Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Well another year has flown by and our family has been busy. “With what?” you ask. How kind of you!

Michael- Still working at Corona Clipper however he is now part of the IT department and very excited to be learning new information. He is not the Scoutmaster any longer but helps with keeping the scouts progressing and is an Assistant Ward Financial Clerk at church. He has recently taken to photography, his newest hobby. He is really good, too. It is relaxing and fun (he loves to photograph the kids at all their activities). He has a Flickr.com account where he posts his pics. You can find it by entering our email address (meza352@charter.net) in the “find a member” area of flickr.

Kristin- I am still trying to be “my kids’ Mom”. I started “working” (I call it playing) at my friend Kelly’s house last Oct, just over a year ago, for a couple of hours each morning while my kids are at school. I really like it because (1) Kelly and I get along real well & (2) didn’t I say- I get to play with kids! Since she calls it work, she pays me to Play there! I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). I started having these aches in my fingers, wrists & knees everyday & finally got o see a rheumatologist who tested & said, “Yes, you have RA.” I was relieved because I thought that I was just getting old.

Jacob, 14-HS freshman, early morning seminary student, ASB Freshman Class Treasurer, freshman football player, freshman soccer goalie, and Honor student (Bio, Alg 2 and Lit). Need I say more? This boy is busier than Mike and I combined, ever were, in HS. He is adjusting and doing well. He has completed all scouting with the exception of His Eagle Scout service project, which has been approved and will hopefully be finished before his 15th birthday in May. He stands just maybe ¼” shorter than his father & we don’t think that will last too much longer. Braces were another adjustment this past year. Ahh…the joys of youth!

Hannah, 9 1/2-Hannah loves to learn. She is in the 4th grade this year & excelling in all subjects. One of her favorites is dance, which her 4th grade teacher finds the time to teach as part of PE. Hannah has learned meringue, foxtrot, waltz, rumba, swing, tango and who knows what else. She even dances with…b-o-y-s! She can’t wait ‘til next year when she can go to 5th & 6th grade dance club after school. Her school had a writing contest & she submitted a story. Her story was chosen from the 3rd grade entries to be made into a skit & then the school surprised the kids in an assembly by having a professional company come in & perform the skits. Boy was she surprised to see her story come to life! She is continuing with piano lessons and has played for our Ward Primary Program and our Ward Christmas Party. She has developed a fondness for L.P.S. (Littlest Pet Shop) figures that have little bobble-heads. She also loves Club Penguin online.

Sydney-Sydney just turned 8 years old on the 16th of Dec. She is in the 2nd grade (one of the oldest in her class). She is looking forward to being baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints(Mormons) in the next month. Sydney is a real lover of animals. She continues to ask for a horse each year. Sydney will play any sport that you teach her. She has played on a soccer team and a basketball team and now is waiting for golf lessons to start as well as soccer- again! Sydney was Student of the Month 2 times this past year. When I was pregnant with Sydney, Michael used to say, “I hope this one likes to snuggle”. Boy, did he get his wish! Sydney is always around to give you a hug or a kiss or both, when you need it.

We love living here in Riverside. We are close to Mike’s parents and my parents. All of his siblings live here, too. My siblings are dispersing throughout the US. I only have 3 brothers in CA with 2 of them here in Riverside. Since September of 2006 until Sept of 2007 we acquired 6 new nieces/nephews on my side of the family and 1 great niece on Mike’s side of the family.

We vacationed around home this year with a few short trips. San Diego/Sea World for a weekend at the Hyatt in the Bay. We could see the Sea World fireworks every night from our Hotel room. Since we were so clos,e we went to Ensenada & on the way back ate lobster! Our next trip was to Palm Springs so we could understand what 120 degrees feels like (don’t ask). We also have visited Anaheim, where we were able to get annual passes to Disneyland & have loved being able to become more familiar with Buzz Lightyear of Star Command & found out e that Hannah is the daredevil in the family because she will ride the California Screamin Roller coaster at Disney’s California Adventure by herself, multiple times, as well as the Tower of Terror! We would love to hear from everyone. Our email address is above and our blog is mkmezafamily@blogspot.com, we are not good at it yet but its coming!

Our wishes are sent to you & your family for Peace and Hope of a new and better year to come, always.